Sinking
by Zombiebrainz
Summary: team magma has managed to invade team aqua's base, though while everything may be going as planned for the rest of the team, maxie isn't having that great of a time. and archie needs to discipline his grunts better. [ hardenshipping, maxie/archie, maxie x archie, one shot, yeah sure ]


Sinking.

The sensation was unfamiliar, but strangely peaceful. It was ironic for a man who favored the land far more than any body of water to somehow appreciate it. The ocean currents churned around him, and the deeper he sank, the slower they became, lapping languidly at his body as they pulled him down further. But the sun that glimmered on the water's surface became more and more distant as he dropped down, down—its warmth fled and the cold clutch of the waters sank into his bones like he was sure death would.  
>Seawater stung his eyes, keeping them open a struggle, and the air in his lungs was rapidly being replaced with liquid that choked him, made the initial almost-pleasant sensation of sinking shatter.<p>

There wasn't much he could do about it, however. Too far gone, too deep down to combat it. The strength had seeped out of his arms and legs, the blackness that crept over his brain making thoughts sluggish, barely existent.  
>All he could think of was how he would miss the warmth of the sun, the cool breeze, the—the—<br>His eyes began to slip shut, though not before seeing the once perfect, rippling circle of light be cut in two by something, someone, lunging into the waters.

-

He'd been distracted, though that was an understatement.  
>When the Aqua base had been swarmed by Magma grunts and even the higher ranking officials within their rival team, Archie had taken it upon himself to devise some sort of defensive plan. There was no idea as to how they had discovered their secret base within Lilycove—but, then again, Archie had been hearing of some of his grunts ambling around with the locals, having been too engrossed in his own affairs to reprimand them for being so bold. It could be assumed that this fault had resulted in them being put under attack, though at the time, as he growled orders and pushed one grunt to the side when they lingered in his path for too long, it wasn't that important.<p>

They were too many of them, and they had come with stronger pokemon. Admittedly, the Aquas had been particularly… Distracted from training with the new experiment with the Wailmers in the cove. Which had not gone as planned. None of the Wailmers had even evolved, let alone become capable of the simplest commands. Many had stared in blank wonder at the food dangling from their trainers' hands, much too fixated on the rewards than actually remembering what they had done to earn such rewards.  
>Now, with panicked cries and shouts of his name coming from left and right, there wasn't much other choice but to take the submarine they had only recently stolen and flee.<p>

"Get everyone to load up and get out of here," hissed Archie in the ear of Matt, who blinked at first, unable to initially hear him over the ruckus. But with the combined snippets of "Get everyone" and "of here", it could be assumed that it meant escape. More than happily did he comply, shouting out to the grunts and other admins to back off of their battles and flee, if only for the time being.  
>Chaos sweeping over the base, boots rocked the floor as grunts fled left and right, disorienting the Magma members who were baffled who to pursue, who to let run, and what they were supposed to do.<p>

As Archie went to one of the rooms leading to the submarine, he noted something off about Team Magma—Maxie was missing.  
>His absence was perturbing, for usually he was at the back organizing and shouting orders, usually quite on top of things.<br>Now, as he slipped through a back entrance into a room with turbulent waters—purely existent to confuse trespassers—he found himself growing more and more bothered by it.  
>Maxie would never be missing, especially during such a critical strike on Aqua's defenses.<br>Why would he-

"_Let go of me!_"  
>Well, his question was answered quite promptly, Archie looking over to see his grunts—why weren't they fleeing with the others?—and Maxie himself. Unlike what he would have normally anticipated, there were no pokemon out battling, and rather, his grunts had grabbed onto the Magma leader, gripping his arms tight as he struggled and fought against them.<br>"This'll put an end to all of this," one of them growled—Archie was too far away to hear exactly what they were telling Maxie, but he was fixated on the fact they were dragging him to the water, the red-head looking more and more panicked as he glanced back behind himself, seeing the churning whirlpools.  
>"You're making a mistake!" Maxie was sputtering as he thrashed about, kicking out to no avail. A chill ran down his spine as he felt the heel of his shoe lose footing on the metal grating just above the water, his look of fury fading into one of terror.<br>"You can't do this, _you can't do this, YOU CAN'T—"  
><em>He could feel his heart skip a beat as one of the grunts grinned at him, the grating disappearing from beneath him as he was pushed. His hands flung out, freed from their grip, but there was nothing to grab, only feeling air slipping between his fingers as he tumbled down.  
>His screams was smothered by the water that hungrily grabbed onto him, the Magma leader disappearing beneath the churning surface.<p>

"The boss is gonna be excited to hear that we finally got rid of that rat—" giddily one of the grunts told his companion, only to pause as hard footsteps vibrating the grating beneath them, looking over in preparation for some Magma member running down to fight them.  
>"Wait, b-boss, what are you—?!"<br>The grunts jerked back as Archie shoved past them, diving into the water with no hesitance.  
>"Archie!"<br>"He's gonna drown!"

The water grabbed onto him, Archie nearly losing the breath he had taken just from the powerful surge of the whirlpool. But seconds later, he found himself beneath it, sucked down deep into the waters. It was all powered by machinery—without the natural power behind it, it was incapable of keeping him trapped for long, something he could appreciate as his eyes, squinting against the sting of the sea water, searching for Maxie.  
><em>There.<em>

His sinking figure was distant, but his red attire took out from the inky blackness of the water as it went deeper. Archie, feeling his clothing weighing him down, only swam deeper down, fighting against time as he tried to keep the air in his lungs as he went deeper, deeper, reaching out-  
>His mind was getting foggy with the abrupt pressure change, but he felt a hand, grabbing onto it before his vision could fail him in the churning waters, heaving up.<br>Maxie was limp, making it easy enough to drag him close and begin swimming back up, holding as tight as he could to keep him from slipping out.

The grunts had fled the scene of the crime by the time he broke through to the surface of a less active section of the water, gasping for air as he shook his head, water dripping down his face as he paddled to the dock. Struggling for a moment, nearly slipping off the metal grating, Archie shuddered as he heaved them both up, panting heavily as he laid Maxie out.  
>"Oh fucking Christ, come on, Maxie," he wheezed, kneeling down next to the Magma leader. He wasn't breathing, wasn't moving—he even looked paler than usual, panic consuming Archie's mind.<br>"C'mon, you can't die yet—I didn't get into this stupid, fucking war with you to have you die," he pleaded, realizing that he'd have to do CPR.  
>Gritting his teeth, his memory foggy on how to do any of this, he scooted closer, pressing his palms against where he felt Maxie's sternum to be.<p>

He felt so fragile.  
>He was afraid he'd break him.<p>

Pushing down once, feeling his ribcage sink down beneath the pressure, Archie was tentative, staring at Maxie's face as though hoping him to magically awaken. Nothing happened. He pushed down harder, eased up, and then repeated it, finding a cautious rhythm as he tried to bring him "back to life".

Nothing was happening and Archie's panic was growing worse—what else was he supposed to do with CPR?  
>Then, he remembered.<br>Mouth to mouth.  
>He was supposed to give Maxie mouth to mouth.<br>Staring at his face some more, feeling jittery with panic, he swallowed, tentative about doing any of this. But he couldn't let him just die, he didn't want any death to come of this, and thus, he took a deep breath.  
>Reaching out, he gently opened Maxie's mouth—this was weird, this was getting really weird, but then again, he was dying—and pressed his own over it, exhaling hard.<p>

That seemed to do something in comparison to his compressions, feeling Maxie tense beneath him, Archie pulling back as life seemed to return to him. From looking as if death had finally claimed him, the Magma leader was coughing violently, rolling somewhat to the side as he coughed up copious amounts of water, his shoulders shuddering. Wheezing and gasping for air, he wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand, looking over at his savior.  
>"You tried to kill me," he gasped, his voice raspy from the sea water that had surged up and out of his throat. Cold and shivering, Maxie looked pitiful—and particularly shocked that Archie had made an attempt on his life, though the other man was throwing up his hands in defense.<br>"I didn't tell them to do anything, and why would I save you if I wanted you dead?"  
>Gritting his teeth, Maxie turned his head away, shakily trying to get to his feet.<p>

"I don't care—I'm… I'm getting out of here; I don't want you throwing me back into that water."  
>He shuddered, the cold clutching to him tight, Maxie hugging onto himself as his eyes hunted around for the door.<br>"You can't just go, you're going to get hypothermia—get back here, Maxie!"  
>Grumbling something under his breath about Archie being a psychopath and a murderer, perhaps a mix of both, Maxie was already marching to the door, a little unsteady on his feet but otherwise determined.<br>Feeling the grating shake with movement, he glanced back, releasing a shrill noise of protest as he was grabbed.  
>"Let go of me this instant!" he squalled, pushing and shoving feebly at Archie as the obviously stronger of the two gripped firmly onto him, hefting up Maxie's squirming mass into his arms.<br>"I'm not letting you just wander off when you're sopping wet."  
>"You're just as wet as I am!"<br>They were both absolutely dripping, but Archie hadn't been on the brink of death, and Maxie still looked incredibly, unhealthily pale.

Despite all of his squirming, Archie could even feel Maxie shake from the cold as he was carried off, Archie feeling his ears going numb from all the shouting, protesting, and harsh insults that he was assaulted with during their journey deeper and deeper into the base. Everyone was gone—the Magma grunts had apparently left, thinking Maxie was elsewhere, and his own grunts had probably fled as well. The pair that had shoved Maxie into the water more than likely lied, claimed that Archie had already gone ahead, or perhaps was staying behind for some reason or another.  
>Either way, when he checked, the submarine was no longer there.<p>

By the time they got to where Archie had been sleeping during their time spent at the base, Maxie had—surprisingly—run out of things to insult him with. Either that or it was simply exhaustion that had consumed him, for he looked dead tired. As limp as a rag doll in his hold, his head had begun to loll against his shoulder, eye lids sinking heavily lower and lower with every step. Clutching onto consciousness, Maxie sensed a shift in atmosphere as all the intense lights filling the base seemed to vanish, the spaciousness abandoned them, and, well, there was a bed.

"What are you—"  
>Maxie grunted as he was abruptly dumped onto the bed before he could finish his demand, sitting up defensively. Anticipating Archie to be trying something, he watched him as he walked straight by him, slipping into the connecting bathroom, flicking on the light.<br>Pursing his lips at the sound of Archie rummaging around, Maxie took his time observing the simplistic bedroom that had clearly been set up to be temporary. It bore little décor and had only basic necessities—a closet, a dresser, and then a bed. The paint on the walls was a dark blue—very typical—and everything else followed some sort of blue-ish theme, or some complementary color.  
>Hearing the bathroom light be turned off, he jerked around, throwing up his hands when seeing Archie way too close.<p>

"Get away from me," he snarled, wincing as his shoulder was grabbed and he was tugged forward. "Stop whining, you're killing me here," Archie grumbled, Maxie looking personally insulted. "_I'm _killing _you? _Oh my god, your grunts nearly murdered me you insensitive—"  
>Silenced by surprise, and the urge to flee, as a towel was thrown over his head, Maxie more than expected Archie to start strangling him with it, instead beginning to dry off his hair.<br>"I didn't ask them to try and drown you, that wasn't my idea. Now shut up."  
>Maxie ground his teeth together in agitation, staring harshly back at Archie as he dried his hair.<br>At least he was gentle about it, no pulling or tugging involved as he patted the damp red mess down before pausing, pulling back.

"You're going to have to take off those clothes."

If Maxie hadn't looked insulted before, he did now, a look of disgust and horror overcoming him.  
>"I am not—"<br>"You can wear something of mine, I mean, I'm gonna change too. We're both soaking wet and are you really wanting to stay in that?"  
>Maxie looked down at himself, frowning at his sopping wet coat, which was beginning to soak into the blankets on the bed.<br>"… Fine. But I'm not changing around you," he hissed, Archie shrugging, getting up to grab him something. "Whatever. Just get out of that shit."  
>Scowling, Maxie huffed, but said nothing more as Archie fished around for something.<p>

Staring at his closet, he pulled out a shirt, and then paused.  
>He looked at the shirt, then to Maxie.<br>Shirt. Maxie. Shirt. Maxie.  
>"Uhm…"<br>"What?!"  
>Archie sneaked a glance back at Maxie, who again looked insulted. Did he take every little thing personally?<br>"… You'd be fine with just wearing a shirt and underwear, right?"  
>Maxie's face illuminated, though it looked to be more out of blind rage than embarrassment.<br>"I-I mean, you're kinda… Small and I doubt my pants will fit you, and I got some pretty big shirts—"  
>Maxie had already gotten up from the bed, storming towards him.<p>

Archie flinched as Maxie lifted his hand, looking back to see the shirt gone from his hand.  
>"Just shut up already," Maxie sputtered, puffed up and looking irritating. "I'm—I'm only going to be wearing this until my clothes are dried and I can get out of this hellhole, so <em>fine. <em>Stop being immature about it."  
>Blinking, Archie wanted to make a comment on how Maxie's babbling seemed more immature than his attempt at explaining that his clothes were too big for Maxie's leaner frame, but he was already slamming the bathroom door shut.<p>

"… I hate my grunts," sighed Archie, turning back to find some new clothes for himself, something that would be comfortable after being thrown around by that turbulent water.

Kicking off his shoes and reaching up for his bandana only to find it to be gone, apparently thrown off by the water, Archie wanted to groan.  
>That was his favorite one!<br>He simply frowned as he grabbed the towel he had given Maxie and dried himself off before changing, flopping down on the bed to wait for the other man.  
>He took a long time to change when all he was going to be wearing was a shirt.<p>

Archie's eyes fixated on the opposing wall.  
>Only a shirt.<p>

Mind flashing back to the CPR, he nearly smacked himself from his own inappropriate thoughts about it.  
>He had been saving his life, and mouth to mouth had been a part of that. It wasn't really a kiss, anyways. If it would be considered such, that would be mildly disturbing.<br>Blowing air into another man's mouth wasn't exactly his idea of kissing.

The bathroom door creaked and he looked over, suddenly very uninterested in staring at the wall.  
>His shirt was definitely big on Maxie—he never realized just how big it was, but then again, it was an old shirt. It reached just a little past his thighs and <em>wow he didn't ever think about how good it'd look on-<em>

Internally hitting himself, Maxie was red all over again, and with the same angry look from before.  
>"What are you looking at?" he hissed and Archie robotically looked away, even if every fiber in his being was begging to look back.<br>"N-nothing at all, Maxie."  
>He could feel his eyes glaring at him, but he didn't dare look back over.<br>From incredibly cold, it was suddenly feeling quite warm, especially as he felt the bed sink with Maxie's additional weight.  
>"I'm only staying here until I feel well enough to leave on my own," Maxie was grumbling, Archie slowly looking back over, feeling it to be a safe time to do so. Maxie seemed a bit calmer than before. He was dried off, wearing something warm, and was on a rather comfortable bed.<br>Except-  
>"You are looking at me weird."<br>Archie froze, before stammering, "N-no, I'm n-not."  
>"You're stuttering. You never stutter."<br>"I-it's cold. V-very c-c-cold."  
>Sounding indignant now, Archie looked away, but then back again as Maxie leered at him suspiciously.<br>"Is it because of what I'm wearing?"  
>"I-I told you I'm—I'm just cold!"<p>

Unconvinced, Maxie stared him down for a long few seconds, finally, dismissively, looking away.  
>"Fine, if you say so," he drawled, readjusting his position. He pulled up one of his legs, causing the shirt to ride up, more of his thigh showing.<br>Archie, who had been trying to look away, found his eyes tracing up from Maxie's ankle to the newly exposed skin, gaze going from neutral to hungry.  
>Maxie did look all too nice in his shirt, something he had not factored in when giving it to him to wear-<br>"I knew it!"  
>The sharp snarl from Maxie caught him off guard, Archie's head snapping up as Maxie jabbed an accusatory finger in his direction.<br>"You goddamn pervert—you set me up in this!"  
>Caught.<br>Archie opened and closed his mouth, hoping that something would come out that would be the perfect excuse as to why he was gawking at Maxie's thigh as it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Nothing but silence met his unheard plea.

"You make me sick, I'm just—I'm not staying here, you god damn pervert," Maxie was huffing and puffing, his face bright red—a common theme, he seemed riled up easily—as he tried to get up. "No, Maxie," pleaded Archie, snapping forward, grabbing onto his wrist and yanking him back to the bed. Maxie whirled on him, slapping at his hand with a, "Why can't you just LET GO?!"  
>Realizing how badly he had fucked this all over, Archie panicked in trying to figure out some sort of explanation.<br>"You're still too weak!" he exclaimed. "You can't leave and I—I—"  
>"Then stop staring at me like I'm some slab of meat!"<br>Maxie managed to successfully yank back his hand, though it was more than likely because of Archie's loosened grip.  
>Lips twisted in a snarl, he stared him down challengingly, waiting for the Aqua leader to come up with something to excuse his behavior further.<br>Met with silence, he turned away, preparing to leave, until Archie started to plead, again.

"I'm sorry, I'll—I'll stop staring. Just don't go. If you end up dying for some reason or another because I didn't keep you here, if some grunts are still wandering around this place, I won't be able to forgive myself."  
>Maxie scowled, glancing back at him.<br>"We hate each other. You should want me dead."  
>"We may be enemies, but I never wanted anyone dead."<br>Frowning, for the first time since being carried to Archie's temporary bedroom, Maxie didn't look any sort of angry or offended. Instead, he let his gaze linger on Archie for some time before he looked away, his frown remaining.  
>"… I suppose we have one thing in common," muttered Maxie, Archie relieved to see that the other man didn't seem eager to leave.<br>"Doesn't explain why you're staring at me like that. Am I really so handsome?"

It was Archie's time to turn red this time, though it wasn't as obvious with his tan, flinching back.  
>"I, ah, er, I mean—"<br>Maxie sighed, thumping fully down onto the bed, burying his face into the pillows.  
>"I don't care," he grumbled, voice muffled. "Just take me out to dinner before you try anything."<br>Archie blinked, staring at Maxie, who hadn't moved from his newfound position.  
>"You mean—"<br>"Don't get that excited."  
>Pouting, Archie watched Maxie for a moment longer before shifting, scooting closer before brushing up behind Maxie.<br>"So does this mean you'll be staying for a little while?" he mumbled in question, Maxie lifting up his head to look at him.  
>"Does it look like I'm going to be moving anytime soon?"<br>That was true.

Archie, hovering just above Maxie, slowly lay back down.  
>There was silence, a good amount of space between them, and nothing else.<br>Finally, Archie scooted a bit closer. And then a little more. And then a little bit more.  
>"Do I have to take you out to dinner to do this…?"<br>Maxie tensed as he felt an arm curve around his waist and with a tug was pulled back against his rival, growling lowly.  
>"I didn't say—"<br>"I'm just keeping you warm. That works, right?"  
>Maxie managed to shift his head enough to glare at Archie, who blinked passively at him, waiting for some kind of response.<br>"… Just shut up," he sighed, letting his head thump back to the pillow.  
>Archie was glad Maxie couldn't see his smile.<p> 


End file.
